Only One Can Stay
by lovelysadness16
Summary: This world was not prepared for the sudden arrival of the two strangers who were never supposed to be there. It could handle one of them, but not both of them.


Everything came back in a rush of color as everyone converged at one single spot, a large clearing in the middle of the forest, everyone standing simply in the clothes they favored most in their other life. Everyone was standing, looking around in confusion as to what had just happened, everyone but two who lay peacefully on the ground, their modern clothes a striking differenced to the rich green grass. Twin sobs of anguish brought everyone around, bringing everyone out of the trance of what had happened. They all gazed down, they all stared, and they all felt their hearts weep.

The evil Queen, the strong ad powerful Regina Mills, in all of her black and magical glory, was on the ground, on her knees, clutching a motionless body to her chest. She cradled Emma Swan's lifeless body to her trembling chest, her proud shoulder bowed and shaking as she cried out softly "This cannot be happening."

She was not alone in her sorrow. Snow White sat in the same fashion, cradling the other motionless body to her shaking bosom, the boy she long ago recognized as her grandson, the boy she watched grow up before her very eyes, Henry Mills-Swan.

Both women were in hysterics at it all. Neither of them could comprehend the turn of events. Neither had ever expected this to happen. No one did. Everything had happened so fast, just like everything else had in Storybrooke, well once Emma had begun to change things that is.

Things in Storybrooke had gotten infinitely better once Emma had barged her way into Regina's frozen heart. They had fallen in love, Emma had completely melted the ice and Regina had become the great person that Emma had always known was there and from there everyone realized that there was such a thing as a good day. Everything wasn't a terrible thing and from then on everyone began have a life to live, just as they did in the other world.

Years passed, everyone slowly remembered a life they had only thought to be a dream. They watched their children, Henry included, grow up. Everyone aged as the years passed and yet no one noticed, no noticed that suddenly they could remember things from years back to the day of Emma arriving.

It wasn't till Henry turned eighteen, till after Emma had been married to Regina for five years, till the town's people remembered everything of who they were before the curse, that the curse was actually broken.

The one who broke it was Emma of course but not in the way that everyone had expected, not the way that people thought it would be. As it turned out, the way Emma broke the cruse was simply by being the subject of conversation; she wasn't even in the same room as two who actually broke the curse.

As it turned out, it was Mary Margaret Blanchard who would do the honors. As they both she and Regina sat beside each other, watching Emma cut Henry's birthday cake, did Mary quietly speak to Regina, both sitting stiffly in their seats at having to sit next to each other.

It was the only thing that had prevailed throughout the transformation of Storybrooke. Regina and Mary were still on strained civil terms, granted they could be in the same room now, but that was about the extent of the progress they had made in the eight years since Emma had arrived .

Softly Mary spoke "I wish I could have done that for Emma." She was referring to cutting a birthday cake and had not meant it to be malicious, but simply acknowledging regret. Regina however took it as an attack.

By now she knew that everyone remembered who they were, what she had done to them. It had only been because of Emma and eventually Henry that she was even still alive after everyone fully realized what she had done to them.

Leaning forward slowly she replied back "We all missed out on more things then could ever be counted." Mary turned her head, only barely keeping a glare off her face. "And who's fault would that be?" Her voice was harsh, soft, but harsh. Mary knew in her heart that she needed to accept all that she had lost but it was easier to be angry at Regina then acknowledge how deeply the woman had hurt her and much easier then approach forgiving her.

As it turned out, forgiveness was the key ingredient to the whole breaking the curse thing. Or more it needed Regina forgiving Mary just as much Mary needed to forgive Regina. The forgiveness was born from the resulting argument the two had sitting stiffly beside each other as they watched Emma cut Henry's eighteenth birthday cake . It came about after the two had finally shouted out all the things they had held inside their hearts. It came after Regina shouted out "I'm sorry!" and it was completed when Mary had softly and tearfully replied back "Well I'm sorry too."

If was the resulting forgiveness the two had acknowledged that led them to where they were now, kneeling on the ground holding the ones they loved in their arms crying at the severe amount of loss that neither could put into words.

Regina raised her head to the sky, tears running down her cheeks as she searched the heavens with a blurry gaze "Come back!" She called out roughly, "Come back to me!" It seemed almost too perfectly timed as two faint outlines began to appear in front of the two distraught women. Sure enough the outlines solidified into just barely transparent spirits of the only fatalities brought on from reversing the curse.

Snow White cried out again as she looked upon the family she had come to love unconditionally, reaching out with one of her hands towards the two spirits, thinking that her silent wishes for the two to come back were about to be answered, but life had a way of playing cruel tricks.

Emma looked at the two women, tears slowly forming in her eyes as she drew in a shaky breath and slowly kneeled between them, her gaze locked with Regina's as she tried to project all the love she felt for the woman through her eyes alone. "We both can't stay." She said simply, breaking her gaze to look at Snow White, her mother, and to the rest of the residents who had long ago become the family she had always yearned for.

Snow White recovered from the shock first "What do you mean you both can't stay?" Her gaze was full of confusion and disbelief. Emma just looked up at the still standing Henry, who was just looked around the clearing with a gigantic grin on his face, whispering over and over to himself "Its real, its real, we did it." Looking back at the two women Emma felt a tear roll down her cheek "This place can't handle both of us." She said simply. Regina, having finally recovered, scoffed "It's a whole planet of course it can fit two people." Then it hit her, harder than any other blow life had ever dealt her.

Neither of them were actually from here. Emma may have been born here, but the other world had all but erased her place in this world. Because of that, this world was not prepared for the sudden arrival of the two strangers who were never supposed to be there. It could handle one of them, but not both of them.

"We have to choose." Regina whispered as her sharp mind pieced together everything. Snow Whites head snapped around to stare of the leather clad women. "Choose? I cannot, no I will not choose between which of my family to kill!" She firmly declared, a fire of dedication burning brightly in her eyes. Emma looked over at her mother, smiled sadly at her and then looked down at her hands before looking up at Regina.

"You are the one who has to choose..." Emma ghost of a voice rasped out, leaving the end of the sentence open to be filled as needed. Regina's heart stopped beating. "I… I have to choose which one of you dies." She finished, her eyes widening when Emma sadly nodded her head causing Regina to shift her gaze down as she looked at both Emma's and Henry's still bodies, going over every memory she had for the two people she loved most in any world. Licking her dry lips, bright brown eyes looked into equally bright blue "Why me?" Regina asked hoarsely, her voice nearly cracking.

More tears fell from Emma's eyes as she again answered in a short and simple manner, "Because you loved us the most in the other world" Her answer was the most brutal she could have given because suddenly Regina wished she hadn't loved them so much, this burden was too much, picking which one of them to die or more stay dead was too much, she couldn't do it. Then Henry looked at her and smiled and Emma just smirked and softly spoke out "Quit acting like this is a hard decision."

Regina's already broken heart shattered as she realized who she would pick and just how much she almost hated her decision. She looked at Emma who merely smiled at her, nodded her head and looked at her with only understanding and love in her eyes. Softly Regina whispered "Henry." Henry's head tilted as he looked at her in confusion and then understanding dawned on him as he truly looked around him, realization crushing him as he looked down at both of her mothers and his own body. "…Mom?" Was all he whispered before his spirit dissolved and merged back with his body, causing it to arch suddenly as color spread across his skin.

Snow White's face crumpled as she clutched the boy tighter to her, bowing her back as she cried against his chest, thus hiding from her sight the view of her one and only daughter truly dying before her very eyes.

Regina let the tears slip down her face and drip quietly onto her wife's cold skin, her eyes glued to the slowly fading figure of the love of her life. Quietly Emma called out "I will always be with you." Just before Emma faded away entirely Regina quietly whispered "I love you."

As Emma's spirit faded away entirely so too did her body whish dissipated into a faint dust that slipped through Regina's strong arms and disappeared on the gentle wind. Regina gazed at her empty arms her eyes travelling down the length of air that her wife once lay, a soft sob cry left her lips before she tilted her head back and let out a heart breaking cry.

_**15 years later**_

"Henry!" Regina strong voice carrying through the vast ballroom as her very grown son smiled at her and walked quickly to meet her and the rest of his family half way. The gathering around them was going full force as everyone cheered and raised their glasses to having gone through another curse free year. It had become a tradition for everyone to gather at the "Evil" Queen Regina's castle on the day that the curse was broken and celebrate the breaking of the Curse. It was something that they all could still relate to and refused to forget ever happening.

All of the occupants had of course aged as the years went by, not as quickly as they did in the other world but grey streaked throughout Regina's dark hair, Henry was a man now, Snow White and Prince Charming had life lines scattered across their face.

Regina hugged him tightly as they reached each other and then pulled back to fully look him over. "Oh stop hogging him all to yourself, I want to hug my favorite grandson too you know." Snow lightly poked as Regina smiled and obliged in her request. Snow smiled and softly whispered out as she tucked a stray hair behind his ear "You look just like your Momma." Henry squared his shoulders and tried to bear the compliment with dignity, but sadness still flickered in his eyes as he smiled ruefully.

"I wish she could be here." Henry's deep voice rumbled back as he gazed out over to the star's, his smile growing as he could almost feel is Momma's protective eyes on him, watching over him like a guardian angel. "One day she will be." Regina said softly, feeling her heart reach out for its other half. Shaking her head Regina forced a smile onto her lips. "Enough of this sadness, is this not a celebration?" The others followed her lead and smiled at that, all nodding their head and going off to catch up with old friends.

Slowly Regina felt her smile slip away as she carefully picked up two chalices full of her apple cider and quietly she gazed out at all the people before retreating out to the balcony. Gazing up at the stars Regina sipped her drink, placing the other beside her as if waiting for someone to join her on the balcony, just as she always had an extra of every food and drink she had placed beside her as every meal, quietly talking to the silent stars or if you asked her to her wife.

Regina never truly got over the loss of her true love, but she had come to accept things. She didn't revert back to her frozen evilness, only because it was not what Emma would had wanted, so she grew to let others in. Henry had been the biggest staple in her life, even though she had watched him grow up in the other world, she truly saw him grow in this world. He had a family now, his eldest daughter of the three children he had was named Emma. He lived only a hours ride away, having made a name for himself by the stories he could write. Snow White had surprisingly made things easier as well, visiting her every day, sometimes staying to try and make things easier.

It was only now, after fifteen years that Regina didn't cry at night, that she was able to sleep and dream of golden hair and bright blue eyes and not wake up feeling hollow. She lived with Emma every day, she carried her wife's memory with her always and consistently spoke to her when she was alone. She wasn't crazy; she knew Emma was listening to her.

Gazing up at the stars Regina quietly whispered "I love you" and smiled as a gentle wind wrapped its arms around her and a familiar voice whispered back in her ears "I know".

The End


End file.
